


Knowing

by starstruck1986



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck1986/pseuds/starstruck1986
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hosting Christmas for your partner's family is never easy.  Neither of them really knows why they're doing it, except for the love of each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings/Content: Angst, language, Christmas fic.
> 
> A very little Merry Christmas piece from me!

Charlie slammed the door behind him and cast a hasty 'silencio' before putting his face in his hands and starting to scream.  
  
“Oh dear,” Severus said sarcastically from by the cooker, where he was stirring a pan with one hand whilst holding a glass of wine in the other. “I won't say I told you so.”  
  
“No, because that would be _so_ unlike you,” Charlie muttered sarcastically through his fingers.  
  
He slumped over to the wizard and stole the glass from his fingers. He tossed back his head and chugged down the wine – a nice, smooth red – but still winced as it stung his throat on the way down in such a high volume at a quick pace.  
  
“I didn't want that anyway.”  
  
After putting the glass on the side with a slightly harder bang than he intended, Charlie moulded himself to Severus' back and wrapped his arms around him. He snuggled close and rested his chin on a shoulder. He closed his eyes and let out a massive huff of breath.  
  
“Merry Christmas,” Severus said to him. Charlie didn't need to see his face to know he was smug as all hell.  
“Yes, you were right. We should have locked the door and hid for Christmas.”  
“And do you concede that inviting all of them was, as I predicted, a monumentally terrible idea?”  
“I do.” Charlie tightened his grip and buried his face. “I do, I do, I do. Fucking hell. What was I thinking? My family are a shitting nightmare.”  
“There's only one thing which is going to make any of this better, you know.”  
“Kicking them all out and getting the next Portkey to somewhere sunny?”  
“More wine. Perhaps some hard spirits. Get yourself, as you so love to say – shitfaced.”  
“Say that again, that was sexy.”  
“Get yourself shitfaced.”  
  
Charlie moaned and inhaled from his partner's hair - the scent shot straight to his crotch. He rocked his hips forward into Severus' body.  
  
“Oh, come on. That's not going to happen.”  
“Not even a quick-”  
  
“Charlie!”  
  
He could have groaned as the kitchen door opened and his mother strolled through it.  
  
“Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?”  
“Yes, but that's never stopped you before.” Charlie pulled away from Severus and rubbed his forehead. “What can I do you for?”  
“I just wondered if I could help with anything?”  
  
It was killing her to not be in control of the Christmas dinner, Charlie could tell. He wasn't surprised as it was the first one she'd not cooked in years. Normally they all piled back into the Burrow, which creaked and groaned as if it would give way beneath their collective weight and even more so by the end of the day.  
  
But this year was different. This year he had finally decided to share with his family the relationship he had hidden from them for two and a half years.  
  
And walking Severus Snape into the Burrow on Christmas Day was not something he was willing to jeopardise the best relationship he'd ever had for. He wouldn't have told them if it hadn't been about to get inherently more serious – which it had when they'd bought a property together near the only dragon reserve in the British Isles, which Charlie had a huge stake in and had helped to build from nothing.  
  
He thought that “let's have Christmas here, then you're not going to be uncomfortable!” might be the most infamous words he had ever uttered. Severus had spent most of the day in the kitchen thus far, making food and drinking heavily. Charlie had been spending time with his family – including the spouses and children – and swigging any alcohol he could find at random moments throughout the day.  
  
“No, just having a breather.” He shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets.  
“Don't slouch,” his mother groused.  
“This is my house, I'll slouch if I bloody well want,” he retorted with a grin.  
“Don't slouch,” Severus instructed wryly from where he was turning the heat off on the hob.  
“Oh, what is this? Beat up Charlie day?”  
  
His mum shook her head and reached up to tuck his hair behind his ear. “Too long.”  
“That's not an improvement, mum.”  
“Well it is, all messy and shaggy like that. I'm sure Severus would prefer it if you kept it shorter, dear.”  
  
Charlie raised his eyebrows and stared at her – wondering just what she'd do if he answered that, actually, Severus liked his hair long because he could make a fist in it and yank Charlie's head wherever he wanted it in the middle of sex. He didn't want to find out, though, so he just sighed and shook his own head.  
  
“If there's nothing you need me to do, I'll let you get on. I just thought I'd offer.”  
  
There was a pregnant pause as she waited for someone to beg for help. Charlie smiled to himself as Severus took the bait and called her over for her opinion on his gravy.  
  
“A little more juice from the meat should do the trick with that, but it's very good,” she said, appraisingly. “Anything else?”  
“No, thanks Molly. I think we're nearly ready.”  
“I'll leave you to get sorted out then.”  
  
She patted Charlie's arm as she passed him and he held his breath, waiting for her to leave them alone. She turned once more, though.  
  
“Charlie, do you think you could perhaps spend some more time with Ron? He's still not right and he won't tell me anything. But he'll talk to you.”  
  
Biting his tongue, Charlie nodded. “Sure. I can try.”  
  
He waited until she'd shut the kitchen door behind her and walked away before he reached for the open bottle of wine on the counter and chugged directly from it.  
  
“The only thing wrong with Ron is that he needs a bloody good shag but he's too scared to ask for it!” he rasped eventually. “I was watching them earlier, dancing around one another, clearly fucking besotted.”  
“I don't think there's anything wrong with being fearful of potentially ruining every aspect of your life,” Severus said carefully. “Which is what both Ron and Harry would be doing if they were to act on their feelings for one another. They're both married.”  
“I know they are, and I know what it could do to this family if they were to get together, but I can't help but think that it would be much better for everybody for it to just happen. They'd have one another. They could be happy. I want them to be happy, Severus.”  
  
Severus took some of the plates out of the lower half of the oven where they'd been warming.  
  
“That's why you're so different, Charlie. You love your brother and you genuinely want what's best for him, even if getting that would cause so much damage. You're so bloody _pure_ that you bypass with the mud that other people struggle to get through completely.”  
“You're calling me naïve?”  
“No, I'm calling you a dreamer. An eternal optimist.”  
“Better that than a miserable fucking bastard who only ever sees the worst in the world.”  
“Ouch.”  
  
Severus shot him a filthy glare.  
  
“Oh, I didn't mean you.” Charlie groaned and lifted the bottle to his lips again. “Much.”  
“Stop wasting that wine. It's too good to be used for desperation drinking. There's some of that god awful homemade cider somewhere. Kill off some brain cells with that instead.”  
“You are _really_ fucking unpleasant to be around today, y'know that?”  
“Just today? You surprise me.”  
“Oh, boohoo, look at me, the big grumpy potions master, ex-spy extraordinaire, I'm so bloody clever.”  
“Finished?”  
  
Charlie folded his arms over his chest and scowled. “Maybe.”  
  
“Either way, it's time to get this dinner over and done with.”  
“Ah, fuck it.”  
  


* * *

  
  
Severus was surprised to find himself shattered. It had been a long time since he'd cooked a Christmas meal for more than one person. The last had to have been for his mother, the year after his father died, and even then it was paltry compared to the feast he'd prepared.  
  
It seemed to have gone down well and there was a sleepy, satisfied lull in the noise from Charlie's family. He was grateful, at that moment, that their living room was so large that everyone had a space to sit without anyone being relegated to the floor or a dining chair, and that Charlie was sat next to him, quietly dozing off with his head on Severus' shoulder.  
  
It went against his very fibre to sit and share physical affection in front of other people, but in reality Charlie was only sleeping. They weren't having a massive fondle on the coffee table whilst others looked on. No – nobody even seemed to be paying them any mind at all. Some of the Weasley men were buried under children, others had also fallen asleep. Severus cast a wary eye over at the youngest male, who was sitting close to the fire resting his chin on his hand. A few seats away, Harry Potter was glancing at him every few minutes, clearly assuming nobody was noticing him take his fill.  
  
Severus had seen that look enough times to know what it meant – he'd seen those green eyes stare longingly before. He was just about over the fact that they'd never been looking at him when they did it.  
  
He couldn't decide what Lily would rather her son do – stay in an unhappy marriage or choose life, choose happiness. There were children involved. He hadn't spoken a word to Lily after Harry's birth, so he had no idea if motherhood had changed her view of the world.  
  
He liked to hope she'd want her son to be happy.  
  
He jumped as Charlie's hand crept across his front, and the redhead properly cuddled into his side. Severus looked down at his head, following the mad path of a long curl, and sneakily looked up to check whether anyone was watching.  
  
Ron was. His eyes were wide – wistful. He blushed as he met Severus' gaze and turned his face away.  
  
“God, I need to go home.” Someone moaned nearby and Severus looked over to see Bill rubbing a hand over his bloated belly. “I need to put on some really disgusting old trackies and fall asleep somewhere. Severus. That was an amazing dinner.”  
“I'm glad you thought so.”  
  
“Really good,” George threw in half-heartedly on the floor, where he was pinned under a sleeping two-year-old. “Who'd've thought it?” His grin was cheeky.  
“Don't be so rude. Anyone would think you'd been dragged up by your hair,” Molly said, fondly patting the ginger mop that she'd referenced.  
“No other way of bringing those two up,” Charlie put in sleepily with his cheek still turned into Severus' shirt. “Though Godric knows you tried.”  
“That is very true,” Arthur surmised.  
  
Severus tried to fight the heat which was rising in his cheeks; everyone was looking at them, with Charlie so close to him – being so openly affectionate.  
  
It surprised him that there was no malice in any of their eyes or expressions. If anything, that they allowed him to be party to their brief, shared moment of sorrow for the deceased son that they so dearly missed was overwhelming.  
  
“I suppose we should make a move,” Molly said wearily. “Severus and Charlie have been more than good enough to us today. They deserve some peace and quiet after all that.”  
“Finally, thought you'd never all sod off.” Charlie yawned and sat up.  
  
Severus missed him – both the contact and his warmth -and he both hated and was deeply confused by that.  
  
“Go on, clear out, the lot of ye.”  
“Charming.” Ron spoke one of the few words he had said all day. “I was going to offer to stay and help you clean up and wash up, but...”  
“The job of chief bottle washer is absolutely yours if you want it.” Charlie got to his feet. “We pay in booze and leftovers.”  
“Sold. You don't mind, do you?” Ron touched Hermione lightly on the shoulder.  
“No. You stay. I'm going to go home and check the cat, then I'm going to have a massive nap.” She squeezed his hand.  
  
A look passed between them. Severus wondered just how intuitive the 'brightest witch of her age' actually was.  
  
***  
  
“They've all gone.” Charlie's words were more of a long, happy moan.  
“Except for Ron,” Severus pointed out with a wary look at the redhead's back as he stood at the sink.  
“Ron doesn't count. He can stay as long as he wants, he's not annoying.”  
“Nice to know,” Ron said over his shoulder, putting a glass upside down on the draining board.  
“Why aren't you doing that with magic?” Charlie frowned.  
“Because doing it by hand means that he gets to stay here longer, of course,” Severus muttered, dropping down into a seat at the kitchen table.  
“Am I really so readable?” Ron asked, clearly embarrassed.  
  
Charlie shot Severus a look and shook his head.  
  
“Stop doing that,” Ron huffed, dropping what he was holding in the sink.  
“Doing what?” Charlie asked, a picture of innocence.  
“Swapping those fucking knowing looks when you think I don't know you're doing it.”  
“Well if you know we're doing it then why don't you do something to stop us?”  
“Like what?”  
  
Ron turned around then and to Severus' horror, his eyes were red and watery and he finally looked visibly upset.  
  
“Ruin everything? Tell him I love him and fuck it all up? I can't do that, Charlie.” His voice broke as he spoke his brother's name.  
  
Severus watched as Charlie all but engulfed him in his embrace. Ron seemed impossibly thin against his brother's muscles.  
  
Thinking about Charlie's muscles made his throat sting a bit, so Severus swallowed and tried to think of anything else to keep his mind occupied. It seemed wrong to intrude upon Charlie and Ron whilst they were sharing such a moment.  
  
It took him a while to realise that the sound of muffled sobs were what he could hear – he felt even more of a third wheel at that point.  
  
“You can't keep on like this, mate,” Charlie said finally, rubbing his hand over Ron's back. “I don't know what you can do to fix it, mind, but you can't go on like this much longer. You're going to have a breakdown.”  
“I know. I know.”  
“I know you know, but knowing isn't going to do anything about it, is it?”  
  
“Charlie,” Severus got to his feet and crossed the kitchen. “Come on, that's not going to help. It's Christmas Day, and we've all had too much to drink and eat and there's no good that can come out of inventing answers now.”  
“He could tell him how he feels.”  
“And what good will that possibly do today? None. Leave it, Charlie. Pour him a drink and just leave him alone to feel whatever he wants to feel – do what he wants.”  
  
Charlie fixed him with such an accusing glare that it made breath catch in the back of Severus' throat. It was a look of pure contempt - _'how dare you tell me what to do with my own brother?'_  
  
Expecting an ear bashing, Severus braced himself – but all Charlie did was throw him a final filthy look and leave the kitchen. He didn't even bother to slam the door behind him. Ron sniffed hard and wiped hurriedly at his eyes.  
  
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your Christmas, Severus. I know that you've worked really hard...”  
“Stop. You've ruined nothing. Don't apologise.”  
“But-”  
“Ron.” Severus resumed Charlie's position in front of Ron. “You have nothing to apologise for. Believe me, I've known my fair share of pain. I know what it feels like to be unable to retain it, to hide it from others when you don't even feel like you can put one foot in front of the other. I know. And Charlie... Charlie's heart is firmly stitched to his sleeve. He doesn't believe in beating around the bush, or hiding what he feels. He lives in a very black and white world, I've found. I find it infuriating, but that's how he is, and he cares so much about you. So much.”  
  
Ron looked down at his feet.  
  
“What does Hermione know?”  
“That I'm not happy. That I'm not always with her when we're alone. And she's stayed with me and I don't know why, and I'm just waiting for the day when she finally has enough.” He shook his head.  
  
“What will help you? Is it time away to think? You're welcome to stay. If getting drunk will help I suggest you go to Charlie, he's rather better at that than I am.”  
“I'll get drunk and stay, if you're sure it's not a problem?”  
“Stay,” Severus said softly. “Stay as long as you need.”  
  
***  
  
Despite the fact that he was shattered, Severus couldn't drift off. As far as he could tell, behind him Charlie was also lying awake, but they hadn't spoken much since the incident in the kitchen.  
  
Severus hated insomnia. It gave him entirely too much time to think and nothing good ever came of that.  
  
“You're awake, right? Just ignoring me?”  
“I'm not ignoring you, I just don't know what to say to someone who keeps glaring at my back.”  
“I'm not glaring. I'm staring. There's a difference, you know.”  
  
With a huff, Severus turned over to face him.  
  
“Trying to figure out the best way to apologise, actually.” Charlie made a face. “You did the right thing, earlier, stopping me from working him into a frenzy and doing something stupid. And you were amazing today, with them... you handled them all so well.”  
“I just did what had to be done, Charlie.”  
“I know... but you did it for me, and that's kind of awesome.”  
“I would do almost anything you asked of me. I thought you knew that.”  
  
Charlie shuffled closer to him so that their bodies touched.  
  
“You say that, but I'm just waiting for the day you say no.”  
“I won't say no.”  
  
Charlie kissed him gently and reached up to cup his cheek.  
  
“I love you.”  
“Is this you or the entire bar you've drunk today talking?”  
“Severus, shut up, I'm being serious. I love you. I love you harder than I knew I could.”  
  
Taken aback, Severus thought carefully how to answer.  
  
“You know my feelings for you. You know how difficult I find it to say those words, they have never, ever brought me happiness before.”  
“Trust me. I'm not going anywhere.”  
  
Another kiss, slightly sloppier; a little more heat.  
  
“I would not have spent today as I did if I didn't return the sentiment, believe me.”  
“I know.”  
“I know you know.”  
“I know.”  
“This is getting stupid,” Severus muttered. Charlie snorted with laughter.  
  
“I do mean it, though,” Charlie continued after a while. “That I can't thank you enough for today. I couldn't have got through it without you.”  
“And I couldn't have got through it without wine, and the cheeseboard. And I suppose you.”  
  
He lifted his head slightly to kiss the tip of Charlie's nose.  
  
“Merry Christmas, you miserable old bat,” Charlie said sardonically in response.  
  
Severus smiled in the darkness.  
  
__-fin-__


	2. Knowing, Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their house has become a meeting point, and Severus isn't sure how he feels about that. All he wanted was some cheese.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings/Content: Language, boozing, implied first time sex, blink and you'll miss it hints of incestual thoughts.

There was a sizeable lump of Brie halfway to his mouth when he heard the first thud on the door. Severus sighed and looked down at it. If he needed any more proof he shouldn't be eating it, given that he'd designs on the Brie for hours but Charlie had _insisted_ on playing some ridiculous Muggle board games, it'd be a having coronary right there in his kitchen.  
  
Resignedly he put the Brie down and wiped his hand on the back of his trousers. The hammering on the door kicked up a notch and he looked at the clock – not far from midnight, from seeing in the New Year. Charlie had already dozed off on the sofa and Ron was being as enigmatic as he ever seemed to be by staring dolefully into the fire.  
  
Severus could say he'd hoped for a more private Christmas, but there was no point wishing for time that could not come back. Ron just hadn't left after his first stay on Christmas night, choosing to haunt their spare room like some mawkish, ginger spectre, barely saying a word and eating and drinking very little.  
  
His fingers slipped over the locks on the front door which sat between the kitchen and the living room. He nearly walked into Harry Potter's fist which fell forward as the door swung open. Severus' natural reaction was pull himself up to his full height and square his shoulders – any Potter did that to him, he was slightly ashamed to admit. But as he took a proper look at the Potter in front of him he couldn't help but feel sympathy. His hair was sent mad by the wind and his eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed. He looked paler than Severus could ever remember seeing.  
  
“Where is he?” Harry asked, his voice monotone and flat.  
“Who?” Severus asked carefully, with a quick glance towards the living room.  
  
Harry's laugh was hollow. “Don't play dumb, Severus. We both know you're far from thick. Is Ron here? He's not anywhere else. I've been looking for him all week.”  
“Look, Harry...” Severus took care to use Harry's first name, hoping that it would throw him enough to stop and think. “I think you should think carefully about what you're doing.”  
“'Think carefully'?” He laughed again. “I can't _stop_ thinking about him. I wake up, I think of him. I get dressed, I imagine his fingers dressing me. I go to work, I imagine his body against mine on the back of our office door. I have shared nearly my entire life with him, and I love him, and I CAN'T FUCKING STOP IT.”  
  
His voice had risen to a shout and Severus thought he heard movement from the living room.  
  
“So you tell me where he is,” Harry spat contemptuously. “You know, I know you know.”  
  
Severus looked at the wavering finger pointing in his direction and sighed. “In the living room, Potter.”  
  
He stepped back and out of the way, holding the door with the hand which had previously held beloved cheese. Harry hesitated for a moment before crossing the threshold and heading for the living room. He shut the door and followed.  
  
“Ron.”  
  
Harry was looking at Ron, sitting in the armchair nearest the fire. Charlie was awake and on his feet as Severus had suspected. They looked at one another and Charlie shook his head once – a command not to interrupt. Severus shifted his weight between his feet and folded his arm over his chest.  
  
“Ron.” Harry repeated the name as if he was unsure of the weight of it on his tongue. “I found you. I've been looking...”  
“I've been waiting.”  
  
Severus opened his mouth to protest as the two younger men before him seemingly moulded into one figure. Even with his poor eyesight, he knew that they were immediately kissing, touching – hands roaming wildly over one another's bodies. It was a good while before he realised that his jaw was still hanging and he was watching them maul one another. He looked at Charlie, who was watching him with strange eyes.  
  
Severus gestured at the pair of them and tried to ask the question with his eyes -' _are you going to do anything?'_ Charlie simply shrugged and shook his head again. Harry and Ron in front of them progressed to blatant groping and Severus suddenly felt hot and light-headed.  
  
The pair fell backwards onto the sofa, touching so intimately that Severus began to feel he was intruding in his own home. No matter what he thought, it was impossible to tear his eyes away from the sight. That Charlie wasn't stopping him implied that his partner was having similar difficulty.  
  
Eventually a particularly high cry out of Ron's mouth startled Severus back to sense. He snatched up Charlie's hand and heaved with all his weight to get the burly man to move. He staggered into the hallway and brushed against the wall.  
  
“Was it just me, or was that insanely hot?” Charlie whispered.  
“That's your _brother_ ,” Severus replied in dismay.  
  
Charlie met his eye and, once again, shrugged. “I see beautiful people, Severus. I find them beautiful. It doesn't matter who they are to me. But passion like that, passion like that is... _so_ fucking hot. They adore each other. They have so much to explore together and that's... that's beautiful.”  
“I always questioned your notion of beauty, given that you find me attractive.”  
“I find you delicious,” Charlie murmured, huddling closer and pressing Severus into the wallpaper. “I want you.”  
“Are you seriously turned on by the thought of your little brother and his best friend fumbling for the first time?”  
“If I am?”  
“Then there's a whole side to you I never knew about.”  
“It's all carnal, Severus. Brother or not, he's a beautiful man.”  
“I'm not sure what to make of that.”  
“I don't expect you to.”  
  
Charlie kissed him, pinning him hard against the wall. Severus didn't complain as his wrists were pinned above his head. Normally he would protest, given that there was company only a room away, but something about Charlie's demeanour quieted his protests.  
  
“Oh _fuck_ , Ron. Yes!”  
  
Harry's excited shout made them both jump, but neither moved from their position. In fact, Charlie only tongued his mouth deeper as the cries from the living room heightened in intensity.  
  
“Do you remember when we were like them?” Charlie hissed into his ear. “Hot for one another, bucking like animals in heat?”  
“I do.” Severus tilted his head back. “But I prefer now. The love. The security. The future.”  
“God, you're so boring.”  
“Never bothered you before.”  
  
Charlie laughed and dropped his hands, instead using his own to cup Severus' face. In the living room the clock began to chime the strokes of midnight and both couples seemed to still to listen to it.  
  
“Happy New Year,” Severus murmured.  
“Happy New Year,” Charlie echoed. “I hope it just keeps getting better. I love you.”  
“I know. I love you, too.”  
  
Eyes flashing with joy, Charlie kissed him again. From the living room there were undeniable sounds of clothes being stripped off and clumsy bodies negotiating around one another for the first time.  
  
“C'mon,” Charlie said finally. “Let's leave them to it. We're at least past the point where we'll fuck anywhere. I love our bed too much.”  
  
Severus snorted and nodded his agreement.  
  


* * *

  
  
Charlie dared to crack open one eye against eye. Summoning the bottle of brandy to the bedroom would not go down as one of his smartest ideas, but he couldn't deny that it had officially been a Good Night.  
  
He blearily blinked up at the ceiling for a bit before rolling slowly onto his side and sniffing. Severus was still asleep, his hair in disarray and snoring lightly. Charlie tried to remember what time they'd actually fallen asleep – only knowing that it was long after they'd heard Harry and Ron come up to bed.  
  
Their own lovemaking had been interrupted several times by shouts from the lower half of the house prior to that. Charlie had tried his best to ignore it, but there was no doubting that it had ignited something within him – a passion, perhaps. They had been more adventurous than they had been for quite some time.  
  
He reached over and stroked Severus' hair with gentle fingers. He had rarely felt so at peace with the world, lying there in their warm bed, looking at the wizard he loved at his most vulnerable and beautiful. Despite the fact that he was asleep, Charlie couldn't help but snuggle into Severus' body. The snoring stopped and there was a light groan, but then arms came up and wrapped around him. Charlie hid his face and smiled.  
  
“Morning.” Severus grunted, voice thick with sleep. “If it's still morning.” He yawned. “You were filthy last night.”  
“I wasn't the only one.”  
  
He adored the wry little chortle which sounded deep in Severus' throat.  
  
“Did we drink a whole bottle of brandy between us?”  
“We did,” Charlie confirmed. “And I'm telling you now, this hangover isn't going to be pretty.”  
“Mine either. I think we should just stay here.”  
“Fine by me.”  
“Have you heard anyone else up yet?”  
“Nah, they're probably just shagging again.”  
“That or having very quiet breakdowns about what they've done to their lives.”  
“You had to go there, didn't you?”  
“Well it's not going to be pretty, is it?”  
  
Charlie sighed and turned onto his back again. “It doesn't have be doom and gloom. Maybe it'll all be fine. Ginny can't be convinced that Harry's happy. Everyone else can see he's not.”  
“Knowing and accepting are two different things, Charlie. You forget that quite often.”  
  
Charlie's response was to pull the duvet up over his head and not answer again.  
  
“So mature.” Severus chuckled again, then sighed. “Are you hungry?”  
“I could eat my own arm.”  
“Food means getting up, though.”  
“I'm willing to let you break the pact for food.”  
“Why have I got to make it?!” Severus cried.  
“Because I'm a kept man, remember?” Charlie pulled the duvet off his face. “And I love it.”  
“Kept man my backside. You work hard enough for two men.”  
“So do you.”  
“Perhaps we're working too much overall, then.”  
“I'm not going to disagree with that,” Charlie nodded. “Maybe that should be our New Year's resolution. To work less and play more. Travel more, maybe?”  
“My idea of travelling or your idea of travelling?” Severus asked wearily. “I'm to old to slum it in the hostels you frequent, remember. I like my holidays with a lock on the door and an en-suite bathroom.”  
“I'm not exactly eighteen any more, Severus! I like my comforts too. Like that bloody bottle of brandy. And cheese.”  
“Cheese. I was trying to sneak cheese last night when bloody Potter knocked on my door. Why does a Potter always have to show up to ruin my best intentions?”  
  
“Cheese is a best intention?”  
“Cheese is most definitely one of the best intentions in this world.”  
“You're weird, Severus.”  
“I don't care, dear.”  
“Don't you 'dear' me! Now get up and make me breakfast, _dear_.”  
  
***  
  
He'd lain upstairs with his stomach grumbling as the scents of cooking bacon and sausages floated up to him, but it seemed to be taking forever. It was with his belly aching with hunger that he stomped his way down the stairs in his pants and the first t-shirt he'd been able to find.  
  
As he slung himself around the corner he took in the sight of Severus standing at the open back door, coffee in hand, looking out over the fields in the direction of the reserve. He was leaning against the door frame in his dressing gown. Bacon crackled and sausages spat on the hob, smelling delicious.  
  
“So this is your idea of making breakfast?” Charlie asked loudly.  
“Sod off,” Severus tossed over his shoulder.  
“Love you too.” Charlie yawned and picked up a spatula to prod the food with.  
“Get off it! It's not done yet. Stop interfering.”  
“Oh, wow, you're really going for it with your impressions of my mother, aren't you?”  
  
Severus turned to look at him with his eyebrows raised.  
  
“Okay, low blow,” Charlie admitted, holding his hands up. “Where's the coffee?”  
“Where it always is, you blind moron.”  
  
Charlie laughed to himself as he poured himself a mug of steaming coffee and dumped a huge splosh of milk into it. It splattered over the worktop – Charlie knew what was coming.  
  
“Don't clean that up or anything, will you?”  
“You're mean when you're hungover.” He dropped a tea towel on top of the spilt milk and wiped it up.  
“Hygienic,” Severus commented dryly.  
  
Ignoring him, Charlie sat down at the table and took his bare feet up off the freezing tiled floor.  
  
“Toast?”  
“Yes please.”  
“Then off you trot, we've got no bread. The shop should be open, the Muggles don't close anything these days.”  
“Fuck that, I'll make do without.”  
  
They were distracted from their sniping by thundering on the stairs and all of a sudden both Harry and Ron appeared there, hand-in-hand, giggling like schoolboys. They froze as they saw their audience.  
  
“Afternoon,” Charlie said with a sly grin. “What time do you call this?”  
“Uh-” Ron blushed to the tops of his ears. “We-”  
“Sit down.” Severus lifted the frying pan off the heat. “Breakfast?”  
“Lunch.” Charlie corrected. “Actually nearly even dinner? It's three in the afternoon!”  
“Well, we didn't go to sleep until late,” Harry pointed out, and then blushed as deeply as Ron.  
“Sit down if you can, then.” Charlie waggled his eyebrows and sipped at his coffee. “Cushions _are_ available on request.”  
“Shut up,” Ron muttered.  
  
Charlie couldn't help smiling to himself as both men sat down carefully at the table.  
  
“Well, this is sufficiently awkward,” Severus announced. “If anyone needs me, I'll be eating my food in my office with the door locked.”  
“Oh don't be a spoilsport,” Charlie begged. “Sit down and don't be a dick.”  
“What a lovely way to talk to the man who just cooked you breakfast.  
  
“Are they always like this?” Harry asked Ron quietly.  
“Most of the time, I find. But they do seem to actually love one another, despite it.”  
“You'd have to, to put up with him,” both Severus and Charlie answered in unison.  
  
Charlie met Severus' eye and glared at him playfully.  
  
No matter how complicated Severus insisted Harry and Ron's lives would now be, and how little he understood that, Charlie was very glad to know that his life was, seemingly, so simple and happy in comparison.  
  
He'd seen in many hungover first days of January. This one would be welcome to come again.


End file.
